


Like Having Friends

by iam93percentstardust



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-11-07 18:03:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11064294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iam93percentstardust/pseuds/iam93percentstardust
Summary: A short fic about what happens in between the troll at Halloween and the first time Hermione realizes that she has become friends with Harry and Ron





	Like Having Friends

As Hermione left the bathroom, it occurred to her that she could have told the truth. She could have told Professor McGonagall that she’d been in the bathroom because Ron had made her cry and that he and Harry had locked the troll in with her, although she suspected that was accidental. She needn’t have lost those points for Gryffindor- the first points she’d ever lost.

She leaned against a column to catch her breath. Hermione couldn’t believe how close she’d come to dying. A small part of her resented that she’d needed help from Harry and Ron but then she remembered how she had frozen at the sight of the troll. She was suddenly glad that they had been there. She owed the boys her life.

Soft footsteps sounded behind her. She hurried up to the common room, not wanting to spend another moment in the dark corridors.

The Halloween feast was in full swing in the common room. Hermione felt a brief pang of regret that she hadn’t been able to see the decorations in the Great Hall. No one noticed her enter and so she waited by the portrait hall for the two boys to arrive.

It wasn’t long before the portrait sung back open and Harry and Ron climbed through. There was a brief moment of awkward silence. Then, refusing to look at either boy, Hermione said quickly, “Thanks.” She was surprised to hear her words echoed by the others. There was a warm glow of pleasure in her heart- they hadn’t missed her getting in trouble to save them.

The next morning, Hermione wasn’t entirely certain where she stood with the two boys. Sure, it had seemed like water under the bridge when they were still running on adrenaline but time had passed. They could have changed their minds.

But her fears were put to rest when she arrived at breakfast. Harry spotted her immediately, almost like he had been looking for her, and waved her over. She breathed a sigh of relief as she made her way to an empty spot across from Ron.

“Good morning,” she said.

“How are you doing?” Ron asked hesitantly. Hermione couldn’t blame him for his nervousness. He’d said a pretty awful thing yesterday.

She smiled. “All right. You?”

“All right,” he replied. There was another pause then Ron turned to Harry. “What did you think about the Transfiguration homework? I think I did most of it right but I got confused about Vanishing objects-”

“Can I see it?” Hermione interrupted.

As one, the boys turned to stare at her. “What?” Harry asked.

She repeated. “Can I see it?” She got really nervous. What if they didn’t want her help? What if they thought she was just trying to show off again? She continued, “Maybe I can figure out where you went wrong.”

Harry slid his parchment over, saying, “I hope so. I have no idea what I did on Question 10 either.” Ron, however, looked a little apprehensive.

Hermione barely glanced at Harry’s homework before she had spotted his mistake. “Here,” she pointed out. “You wrote this.” As she continued explaining, she noticed that Ron was looking over his own homework and furiously scribbling out his own answers before replacing them with Hermione’s. A grin was spreading over Harry’s face.

“Thanks, Hermione,” Harry said. “I think I get it now.” She smiled back at him.

“Did you get in trouble with Professor McGonagall?” she asked. She had been really worried that they would.

Harry shook his head. “She yelled for a bit but nothing too bad.”

Ron nodded enthusiastically. “We each got 5 points for Gryffindor.”

Hermione was astounded. “Only 5 points? But that’s not fair! You saved my life; you brought down a troll! You should have gotten more.” Ron got visibly warmer toward her as she spoke until, by the end of her rant, he was practically glowing with pride.

“Yeah, we should have.” He paused and then continued, “You know, Hermione, you’re all right.”

Hermione had to look down at her cereal then, afraid that the boys would see her tear-filled eyes and small smile. She’d never had friends before.


End file.
